Ironing board pad



Jan. 31, 1933. A H PRENZEL 1,895,731

IRONING BOARD PAD Filed July 21, 1952 INVENTOR he i BY Md ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 31', 1933 ADAM HENRY PBENZEL, F HALIFAX, PENNSYLVANIA IBONING BOARD PAD Application led J'uly 21,

This invention relates to improvements in ironing boards, ironing rests and the like but more particularl to a pad to be used 1n connection therewit and its objects are as fol- 5 lows First, to make the cover of woven fabric and to use a vulcanizable coating for aliixmg it to its base, said coating having that property which enables pulling the cover away 1nm tact or peeling it from said base wlthout damage either to the base or cover in the event of its being soiled, thus leaving the surface of the base clean for the vulcanization of a fresh cover.

Second, to provide an ironmg pad of a base structure suitable to enable the affixation of a cover thereto by vulcanization, the normal operation of ironing serving to maintain the security of the cover.

Third, to provide an ironing pad of sponge rubber which has the property of absorbing the excessive heat and steam, which excessives escape at openings around the outer edge, said pad including covers on opposlte sides of and coextensive with the sponge'rubber part, these covers having the additlonal property of supporting the sponge rubber against undue distortion and collapse under pressure of the iron during the operation of ironing.

Fourth, to provide an ironing pad of resilient or elastic material, Said material reacting upwardly against the downward ironing pressure, thereby enabling more perfect ironing by virtue of an actual pressureon the nether side of the goods as well as on the top side.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved ironing board pad. l

Figure 2 is a detail perspective view illustrating a corner of the fabric cover peeled from the sponge rubber base to disclose the perforations in the latter.

Figure 3 is a sectionalview illustrating the action of the pad on a piece of goods under heat and pressure.

1932. Serial No. 623,845.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view illustrating'the action of a sponge rubber pad from iv'vilich the perforations of Figure 3 are omit- Figure 5 is a detail sectional view of a 55 sponge rubber pad in which the pores of the cover have been made to diminish toward the opposite sides so as to leave those sides substantially smooth, this type of the pad being without the fabric cover in the preceding forms. v

Figure 6 is a detail view of a portion of stripped goods illustrating the distortion of both the stripes and warped threads when the goods 1s ironed on a common type of ironing 65 board.

It is common knowledge that ironing boards such as used in households are not entirely satisfactory from several standpoints. Such boards are generally padded with felt, cotton batting or the like and then covered with a fabric `sheet which is designed for the purpose. This sheet is ordinarily stretched tight, but under the action of ironing, taking the motions of the iron, the heat and steam together, the cover soon shows a tendency to become loose and works up a wave which buckles and rolls ahead of the iron.

This buckling and-rolling of the cover frequently causes creases in the goods being 0 ironed by virtue of the fact that the roll has a tendency to make the goods buckle also and produce an obstruction which the iron will surmount. The iron thus produces an undesirable and unsightly crease in the goods, and it becomes necessary to smooth the goods out again and do 'that portion of thesurface over.

Another bad effect of the loose cover is its tendency to stretch and distort the goods. Figure 6 is an illustration of an actual piece of starched goods which was ironed on a conventional board. This goods has parallel stripes l. The looseness of the coveractually caused the distortion of the stripes as illus- 5 I trated and also caused a distortion of the warp threads 2.

Another undersireable feature of known ironing boards is the lack of resiliency. In ironing goods having seams and buttons it is not uncommon for the operator to use one or two towels as an additional base, providing a place for the buttons and seams to sink 1nto so that there may be a level top surface over which to iron.

The invention overcomes the foregoing difficulties and has several additional outstandingE advantages over known Inodesof padding and covering ironing boards. y'The pad, generally designated 3 comprises a sponge rubber base 4. Sponge rubber has a.r myriad of pores whichmake 1t absorbent. When the base of an ironing pad is made of sponge rubber it absorbs excessive heat and steam, permits the excessives tok escape and yet maintains a desirable degree offwarmth for the ironing operation.

f The basel 4in one form of the invention (Figs. 2 and 3) is provided with cross per,- forations 5 which are particularly effective in permitting the penetration of heat and steam in the direction ofthe arrows 6, (Fig. 3) and the escape thereof in the direction of the arrows 7. These perforations `are large in comparison with the normal pores 8 of the sponge rubber base, and while said pores absorb some of the heat and steam as outlined above', yet most of these elements are taken care of by the perforations. n

Covers 9 are aliixed to the opposite sides of the basey4.. They are co-extensive with the sponge rubberbase 4. These covers consist of' what is known asrubberized material. Each cover has a coating 10 of rubber composition on one side, and this coatingis hereinL known yas vulcanizable inasmuch as by means of it the respective cover 9 can be attached to a side of the base 4 `by the application of heat and pressure.v The covers serve to support the -sponge rubber base 4 against distortion and collapse under the action of the iron in the operation of ironing. Since the base is soft there might be the tendencyof too much distortion under rthe pressure of the iron. The covers, being aflixed as they are, hold f back on the softbase and tendto keep it in a firm condition. v

When affixed as outlined above, the cover 9 is insured against slippage. It is not Subj ect to any a preciable expansion or shinkage, ei'ther e ect being compensated fory by a slight yielding of the adjacent parts of the base. The cover will not buckle or roll ahead of the iron, and yet the vulcanizable coating 10 has this property that the cover may readily `be peeled ofi:l should it be desired to replace it by afresh cover.

For the last purpose` the cover 9 is composed of a wove-n fabric. The warp and weft threads of the fabric impart to it that strength which will enable the fabric peeling off without any possibility of the cover tear'- ing as would be the inevitable result if the cover were com osed of a short-ibred substance such asv elt. In actual practice the cover 9 may consist of canton flannel with the rubber composition coating 10 on the side opposite to the nap surface.

It is of no little importance to note that the normal operation of ironing serves to maintain the security of the cover 9. That operation involves both pressure and heat, and each of these factors is ordinarily required in aflixing the cover tothe base. In Figure 3 each side of the base 4 is provided with a cover 9, thus making the pad reversible. i y g- Figure 4 illustrates a similar duplication of the covers 9, that is to say, there is a cover on each side of the base 4*. These covers are fastened on by rubberized coatings 10a as before. It is the`covers which have the rubberized coatings, and the covers are composed of woven'fabric so that. they can be peeled off for renewal. l y

But in Figurey 4 the'cross perforationsy '5 are omitted. The sponge rubber is virtually full lof pores 8a, and these are so connected that the steam and heat may'have 4egressat the sides of the base l4 as illustrated by the arrows 11.' This type of pad may not be as efficient as the type in Figure 3 because of the lack of corresponding cross perforations,

but for some commercial purposes the type of pad in Figure 4 will be well suited.

The same principle prevails inFigurey 5. This is a type of pad in which fabric covers are omitted entirely. The largest pores 8b in the sponge rubberbasey 4b are'in the center of the mass. From there they become graduated in size toward the respective sides of the base virtually -disappearing as 'theyreach strata of .smooth rubber 12. These strata are smooth like the surface of a hot water bottle. The smoothness takes the place of the foregoing fabric covers. faces can be washed and so kept clean. They havel a limited porosity and consequently there will be a limited circulation of heat and'steam through the base. There will be some circulation although not to the extent in the form in Figures 3 and 4. l

It will be understood from what has been stated, that the main purpose is to provide a pad forironing boards, machines and the like composed of a sheet of sponge rubber which provides a firm yet yieldable base. When garments having outstanding seams, buttons or the like are to be ironed, such outstanding parts, (see the button B in Fig. 3) will be pressed into the base and below the surface so that the goods'maintains an approximately level surface over which thehot iron can pass smoothly. This is a principle common to all of the forms of the invention.

Rubberized fabric can be bought on the open market, and it is this type of fabric which is used for the covers 9, 9*. The covers are affixed to the base 4, 4a by vulcanization, that is to say by heat and pressure which respectively melts the rubberized coating andA The smooth causes it to combine with the side surfaces of the base.

The desirable peculiarity of the vulcanizable coating is that peeling off of the cover becomes possible. To this end the cover comprises a woven fabric which will not tear in the peeling o' process. Being vulcanized in place the cover will stay in position during the operation of ironing and will not work up into folds or waves ahead of the iron thus causing a distortion of the fabric (Fig. 6) as occurs when ironing goods on an ordinary ironing board.

I claim 1. An ironing pad comprising a base of sponge rubber, and a cover for said base, said cover comprising a woven fabric having a vulcanizable coating, said coating uniting the cover with the base and being separable as a unit from the base to enable areplacement cover to be vulcanized to the base.

2. An ironing pad comprising a base of sponge rubber, and a cover for said base, said cover comprising a woven fabric having a vulcanizable coating, said coating uniting the cover with the base and being separable as a unit from the base to enable a replacement cover to be vulcanized to the base, said cover being coextensive with the base leaving the ends of the base unobstructed with the pores of the base exposed at said ends.

3. An ironing pad comprising a base of sponge rubber, a cover for a face of said base, said cover comprising a woven fabric having a vulcanizable coatlng, said coating uniting the cover with the base and being separable as a unit from the base to enable a replacement cover to be vulcanized to the base, and a second cover secured to the opposite face of the base.

ADAM HENRY PRENZEL. 

